Link: http://www.usda.gov/2005/05/0172.xml Release No. 0172.05 Ed Loyd (202) 720-4623 Tim McNeilly (202) 690-0498 JOHANNS ANNOUNCES THE AVAILABILITY OF $5.9 MILLION IN RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS TO FOSTER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CASTLE ROCK, Wash., May 18, 2004 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced today $5.9 million in economic development grants are available to assist in cooperative development ventures through establishing and operating cooperative development centers as part of the ongoing effort by the Bush Administration to increase economic opportunities in rural areas. "These centers for rural cooperative development offer rural citizens the resources needed to support the expansion of economic opportunities within their community," said Johanns. "Up to a quarter of the funding being made available will focus on assisting small, minority producers through cooperative businesses -- a critical component of the funds being announced today." The cooperative development grant program is administered through USDA Rural Development. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and are intended to foster rural cooperative development through projects that provide rural residents with education and technical assistance in areas of cooperative startup, marketing and managing, and other self-help tools. In Washington and Montana for example, Johanns said the Bush Administration has provided over the last two years $467,000 in grant funds to Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) for such initiatives as to encourage renewable energy efforts through a pilot effort by Our Wind Cooperative (OWC). NWCDC facilitated their transition to a cooperative structure and continues to function as the group's fiscal manager. This cooperative is a pilot project to determine the feasibility of small wind turbines on the farm. OWC was formed to sell environmental attributes or green tags. To date, the cooperative has coordinated the installation of six wind turbines in agricultural areas of Washington state and Montana. The OWC was featured in the fall issue of USDA Rural Development's Rural Cooperatives magazine. The deadline for submitting a grant application is July 1, 2005. Further information on the rural cooperative development grant program and application requirements as published in the Friday, May 13, 2005 Federal Register, can be found on USDA Rural Development's website at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov, or you can contact any USDA Rural Development office for assistance. USDA Rural Development's mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development has invested over $50 billion since the beginning of the Bush Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. As a result, over 800,000 jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov. # USDA News oc.news@xxxxxxxx 202 720-4623 ---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to oc.news@xxxxxxxx and reference your email address.
